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Herod the GreatHerod the Great was elected ‘King of the Jews’ by the Roman Senate in 37 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era – the time before the birth of Jesus). His role was to keep the Jews in order, a task he achieved partially by rebuilding their Temple to a standard never heard of before. (The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.) Work on the Temple took about 84 years (19 B.C.E. – 64 C.E.) and is estimated to have employed over 80,000 workers. Herod died before it was finished.Sadly, ‘Herod’s Temple’ as it was known, was destroyed in 70 C.E. when the Jews turned against the Roman occupiers of their land. The Roman’s retaliated by destroying their most precious possession, their Temple.All that is left of the site now are the retaining walls which surround the Temple mount. The Western Wall is a place of devotion and prayer for Jews today as it is near to where the Holy of Holies once was.

High PriestDuring the time of Jesus the High Priest was a man named Caiaphas. As High Priest and chief religious authority in the land, Caiaphas had many important responsibilities. He was responsible for the Tabernacle, its daily offerings and functions and also its regular feasts.On the Day of Atonement it was the High Priest's responsibility to take the blood of the sacrificed goat into the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant was kept and offer it to Yahweh on behalf of all God's people, for forgiveness of their sins. The High Priest also had to control the Temple treasury (the collection of money given by Jews), to manage the Temple police and other personnel, and perform religious rituals.Another important duty was to serve as the president of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council and law court.High Priests were appointed by the Romans and during the time of Herod the Great, the Romans expected the High Priest to keep the Jewish population under control and in line.

Holy of HoliesThe Holy of Holies was the 'second' room of the Temple. It was directly behind the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was the most sacred place in the Temple. It could only be entered by the High Priest, and only once a year. The Holy of Holies contained a single item, the most precious of those possessed by the Israelites: the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tablets on which Moses had inscribed the commandments. Like the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies was built exactly as stated in Exodus. (Ex 26 and 27)

Holy PlaceThe Holy Place was the first or front room of the Temple proper. Like evrything in it, it was built according to strict instructions given in Exodus. Even the fabrics used on the front doorway and hanging from the roof had to be exactly as described (Ex 26).The Holy Place had three items inside it.

The altar of the bread. This bread was left for God to eat during God’s visit to the people. (Ex 25:23 ff)

The menorah (Ex 25:31 ff)

The altar of incense (Ex 30:1-10)

HousingMost houses consisted of several rooms built around a central courtyard. Stone was abundant so most houses were built of two outer walls of stone filled with clay. Inner walls were sometimes plastered over with a layer of clay. Doors and windows were kept to a minimum; simplicity, safety and protection from extreme weather conditions were the order of the day. Roofs were flat so that people could live on them, particularly in the summer heat. They were constructed of heavy wooden beams placed across the stone walls and covered with thin rods or poles and then a light layer of clay. Branches were laid in the clay, then more straw, more clay, more rushes, continually crisscrossing the material until the roof had reached a thickness of a foot or more. Finally, a very smooth layer of pure clay was added to the depth of an inch or two, worked to a smooth finish and left to bake in the sun. The wall itself continued above the roof line to form a short wall, or parapet, about three feet high. This offered safety and protection for those on the roof.Water drained from the roof through a small ‘guttering’ hole in the wall. Houses were lit by natural lighting through the small windows and oil lamps placed on walls and tables.